Snow-shoe attachment



(No Model.)

B. 0. WOODBURY.

SNOW SHOE ATTACHMENT. Ila-375,522. Patented Dec. 27, 1887.

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UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE.

BENJAMIN G. WVOODBURY, OF PATTEN, MAINE.

SNOW SHOE ATTACHMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent-N0. 375,522, dated December 27, 1887.

Application filed May 17, 1887.

.To all whom it may concern:

Beitknown that I, BENJAMIN QWOODBURY, of Patten, in the county of Penobscot and State of Maine, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Snow-Shoe Attachments, of

pointed out in the claims, whereby said attachment, in which the foot is placed, readily adapts itself to the shape of the foot, can be used or worn with perfect ease, prevents in r juryto the foot in slipping sidewise, as so frequently happens when traveling over rough or uneven ground with snow-shoes, and allows of a perfectly free, easy, and natural motion of the foot, while securing an absolute control of the snowshoe in turning about or changing the course.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both the figures.

Figure 1 represents a plan view of a snowshoe with my attachment applied, and Fig. 2 a side view of the attachment detached from the snow-shoe.

A is the snow-shoe, which may be of the usual or any suitable construction.

The attachment to which my invention relates, and in which the foot of the user of the snow-shoe rests, consists mainly of a toe-piece, B, of shoe shape, with an open front end, and of a curved heelpieee, 0, having sides, back, and bottom. These separate toe and heel pieces B O are united by side straps, Z) I), and buckles 0, whereby they may be adjusted to any desired distance apart to adapt them to different sizes or lengths of feet. The toepiece B is formed with wings d d at its sides, by which it is attached to the snow-shoe through means of metallic hinges D D. These hinges are arranged with their working-joint transversely of the snow-shoe, so as to admit of the rising of the heel portion of the attachment and low- Serial No. 238.480. (No model.)

ering of the front end ofthe toe-piece. They are secured to the snow-shoe by riveting them to pieces of leather, 6 e, united with the snowshoe by tying or otherwise.

- Passing over the top of the toe-pieceB are straps f f, which may be united with each other by buckle or cord, and the toe-piece itself be laced up its front to adapt the attachment to the foot; These straps f f help to form the wings (Z (Z, and prevent the latter from being bent downward by the weight of the snow-shoe when the foot is lifted.

The heel-piece 0 simply serves to hold the heel in proper position, and has attached to it the buckles c,with which the strapsb b, that are riveted to the toe'piece, engage.

It will readily be seen from the construction herein described that this flexible hinged footor toe-and-heel attachment will give all the freedom to the workingof the foot without injury thereto and without restricting the turning of the snow-shoe by the foot, which has been hercinbefore stated for it.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, with a snow-shoe, of a toe-andheel shoe-like attachment for the foot, hinged at its toe portion to the snow-shoe, substantially as specified.

2. The combination, with a snow-shoe, of

the toe-piece B of a foot attachment having side wings, cl (1, and the hinges D D, by which said toe-piece is united with the snow-shoe, substantially as specified. 3. The combination, with the snow-shoe A, of the open-ended toe-piece B, having upper cross-straps, ff, and side wings, d d, the hinges D D, uniting said toe-piece with the snow-shoe, the separate heel-piece O, and the adjusting side straps, b I), connecting the toe and heel pieces, substantially as specified.

BENJAMIN G. \VOODBURY.

Witnesses:

CALVIN BRADFORD, J. O. BUZZELL. 

